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Stephen R. Donaldson
Stephen Reeder Donaldson (born May 13, 1947) is an American fantasy and science fiction novelist. He is the author of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant series, The Gap Sequence, The Man Who series, the Mordant's Need series, and the upcoming The Great God's War trilogy. Donaldson was born in the United States in 1947 and spent a large portion of his youth in India where his father (a doctor) worked with lepers. He returned to the United States in 1963 and eventually completed an M.A. in English Literature. He published his first book Lord Foul's Bane in 1977. This was the first volume in The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever trilogy, which has received critical acclaim from critics as well as readers. Biography Born in 1947 in Cleveland, Ohio, Stephen R. Donaldson lived in India (where his father was a medical missionary, working with many of the groups of lepers there) until 1963. He graduated from the College of Wooster (Ohio) in 1968, served two years as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War, doing hospital work in Akron, then attended Kent State University, where he received his M.A. in English in 1971. After dropping out of his Ph.D. program and moving to New Jersey in order to write fiction, Donaldson made his publishing debut with the first "Covenant" trilogy in 1977. That enabled him to move to a healthier climate. He now lives in New Mexico. The novels for which he is best known have received a number of awards. However, the achievements of which he is most proud are the ones that seemed the most unlikely. In 1993 he received a Doctor of Literature degree from the College of Wooster, and in 1994 he gained a black belt in Shotokan karate from Sensei Mike Heister and Anshin Personal Defense. After completing the five-book, seven-year Gap sequence of science fiction novels, Donaldson spent quite some time "on vacation." However, he has now returned to work. His most recent book prior to The Man Who Fought Alone was a second collection of short fiction, Reave the Just and Other Tales. He has also finished what may be his most ambitious literary work, a masterpiece trilogy "The Last Chronicled of Thomas Covenant". He has also recently released two novellas and is due to release the 1st of a new trilogy entitled "The Old God's War" in late Summer 2017. Education Employment Published works Awards *British Fantasy Society Award for Best Novel ("The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant"), 1979 *John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, 1979 *Balrog Fantasy Award for Best Novel (The Wounded Land), 1981 *Balrog Fantasy Award for Best Novel (The One Tree), 1983 *Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Novel (The One Tree), 1983 *Balrog Fantasy Award for Best Collection (Daughter of Regals and Other Tales), 1985 *Science Fiction Book Club Award for Best Book of the Year (The Mirror of Her Dreams), 1988 *Science Fiction Book Club Award for Best Book of the Year (A Man Rides Through), 1989 *The College of Wooster Distinguished Alumni Award, 1989 *Julia Verlanger Award (France) for The Mirror of Her Dreams, 1990 *WIN/WIN Popular Fiction Readers Choice Award for Favorite Fantasy Author, 1991 *Atlanta Fantasy Fair Award for Outstanding Achievement, 1992 *LittD (honorary), The College of Wooster, 1993 *Shodan, Anshin Personal Defense, 1994 *President's Award, The International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts, 1997 *Nidan, Anshin Personal Defense, 2000 *World Fantasy Award for Reave the Just and Other Tales, 2000 *Sandan, New Mexico Shotokan, 2003 *LittD (honorary), The University of St. Andrews, Scotland, 2009 (Click here to read the "laureation" address.) Memberships *American Contract Bridge League *International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts *Contributing Editor, The Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts *Anshin Personal Defense *Anshin Budo Kai *Life-Dance Kajukembo *NM Shotokan Karate External Links * Stephen Donaldson's Homepage :*Background Donaldson